Valve



MalCh 20 1934- A. J. LoEPslNGER VALVE Original Filed Jan. 29, 1929 2Sheets-Sheet l MalCl'l 20, 1934. A, J LOEP5|NGER 1,951,485

VALVE Original Filed Jan. 29, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 jy/g dw W PatentedMar. 20, 1934 ATN'' FFCE VALVE Albert J. Loepsinger, Providence, R. I.,assignor to General Fire Extinguisher Company,

Providence, R. I., a corporation of Delaware Original applicationJanuary 29, 1929, Serial No.

Divided and this application March l0, 1932. Serial No. 597,920

4 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in valves. More especially itrelates to a valve having a closure adapted to move laterally across its,seat and novel mounting means for such closure. lThis application is adivision of my application Serial No. 335,908 iled January 29, 1929.

In valves of the type which are normally closed and are adapted to openautomatically to permit flow of uid it is frequently desirable to havethe closure member move out of the flow passage promptly and thereafterbe restricted from returning to its seat until the valve is manuallyreset.

An object of this invention is to provide such a valve and it is afeature of the invention to mount the closure upon a novel pivot which,when the closing force on the closure is relieved, permits the closureto be lifted from its seat and tilted at such an angle to the directionof ow through the seat that the force of flow will swing the closureabout its mounting laterally across its seat, and thereafter permit theclosure to settle below the level of its seat thus restricting itsreturn thereto.

It is intended that the patent shall cover by suitable expression in theappended claims whatever feature of patentable novelty exist in theinvention disclosed.

In the accompanying drawings,

Figure l is a partial elevation in section of a valve embodying thepresent invention, the clossure being shown in full lines in its openposition and in dot and dash outline in an intermediate position duringthe course of its opening movement;

Figure 2 is a plan showing the closure and its mounting;

Figure 3 is an elevation partly in section as on line 3 3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a View of a detail, looking upward along the axis of thepivot; and

Figure 5 is a complete elevation in section or the valve partially shownin Figure l with the closure shown in closed position.

Referring more particularly to the drawings and especially to Figure 5there is shown a valve adapted to be employed in a dry pipe sprinklersystem. When so used it is connected between a supply pipe 1 and adelivery pipe 3 representative of the distributing pipes of such asystem. Such a valve is held closed by suitable means and holds back afire extinguishing fluid 4, such as water, until the need for samearises. When this occurs the valve is opened automatically and shouldremain open until manually reset. In the particular valve 5 shown as anexample of the application of the principles of this invention there isa closure element 7 seated across the inlet 9. The valve chamber l1 andpipe 3 are in open connection with one another through the outlet 13,and normally contain air at a slight pressure either above or below thatof the atmosphere. A small groove 15 in the inlet seat 9 and a draintherefrom through the customary ball drip valve 17 take care of anyleakage of Water from the inlet.

The water acts directly upon the closure 7 tending to open it and alsoacts indirectly upon it to keep it closed until a change of the airpressure conditions bring about the opening of the valve. rIhis indirector closing action of the water is accomplished by means of a bypassagethrough a pipe 19 extending from the inlet side of the closure to anintermediate portion 21 attached to the top side of the ,body portion23. A diaphragm 25 is clamped at its periphery between these twoportions and at its middle is secured to a strut member 27 which, whenthe valve is closed, engages the closure 7. The two portions 21 and 23are suitablyV shaped to provide a chamber 29 for this diaphragm, withbeveled seats 3l and 33 extending inward upon which an annular portionof the diaphragm may rest. The lower (31) of these seats is preferablyprovided with a rust-resisting metal face 35 to prevent corrosion and.any sticking of the diaphragm.

Mounted on the intermediate portion 21 is a top portion 37 having anejector comprising an internal nozzle 39 extending within an externalnozzle 41 but being slightly spaced therefrom to provide an annularpassage 43 therebetween. The internal nozzle 39 is connected by suitablepassages 45 in the top and intermediate portions with the pipe 19leading from the water supply and the annular passage 43 is similarlyconnected by another passage 47 with the diaphragm chamber 29.Accordingly, the Water pressure is transmitted through the pipe 19, thepassage 45, nozzle 39, annular passage 43, and passage 47, to thechamber 29 where it is exerted upon the diaphragm 25 and thence throughthe strut 27 upon the closure 7. Since the eiective opening 49 in thetop wall of the body portion 23 `is somewhat greater in area than thatof the inlet 9, the water pressure acting on the diaphragm over theopening 49 will hold the closure seated against the water pressure ofthe same intensity tending to lift it. This differential of area neednot be large, indeed there may be no such differential because theweight of the diaphragm, strut and closure acts with suilicient force tohold the latter closed when the opening and closing effects of the waterare in balance. However, to insure tight seating of the closure it isdesirable to have a differential of area with consequent excess of totalwater pressure acting to keep the valve closed.

When this condition exists, the discharge port of the external nozzle 41is closed by a needle Valve 51. The stem of this valve has pinned to itnear its lower end a collar 52 upon which bottoms an expansion spring 53coiled about the Stem and pressing also against another collar 55 looseon the stem. This latter collar is engaged by the forked arm 59 of abell crank lever 61, fulcrumed at 62, whose other arm constitutes a ringhandle 62 and latch 63. When in closed position, as seen in Figure 5,the lever depresses the loose collar 55 and by virtue of the spring 53and pinned collar 52, forces the needle valve tightly against its seat.

When the distributing` pipe 3 contains air at a pressure aboveatmosphere the upper hook of the latch 63 is engaged by a lever 67fulcrumed at 69 and disposed with its hooked rend 65 pointed downward.The other end of this lever is of ring shape fitting somewhat looselyabout a spindle 71 under the lock nuts 72. A weight 73 secured upon thisspindle rests upon a pressure actuated device, here shown as a siphonbellows 75 suitably mounted on the top portion 37. The interiorof thebellows is in open communication through passage 77 with the valvechamber 11 so that the air pressure of the dry pipes is acting to keepthe bellows expanded and the weight suspended as shown in Figure 5.

Upon a change of pressure conditions occurring in pipe 3 as upon theopening of a sprinkler and the escape of air from the pipe or an inflowof air thereto depending upon the initial conditions, the Siphon bellowsresponds and allows the weight 73 to force the stem 71 downward. Thelever 67 is swung about its pivot thus freeing the latch lever 63. Thisinitial movement of the lever 61 about its pivot 62 is very rapid due tothe immediate expansion of the spring 53 forcing the loose collar 55away from the pinned collar 52 along the needle valve stem 5l up againstthe flanged sleeve 57 which is pinned to the stem. This rapid movementof the loose collar starts the lever 61 on its swing and the momentum ofthe blow delivered by the loose collar against the sleeve causes theneedle valve to lift somewhat from its seat. This lifting is furtheraugmented as the lever 6l continues its swing under the influence ofgravity with its forked arm 59 forcing the sleeve 57 and needle valveupward. It is to be noted that the engagement of the loose collar 55with the sleeve 57 renders the coiled spring 53 thereafter inactive.Upon the lifting of the needle valve, water iinmediately starts to flowthrough the external nozzle 41 and escapes by drain pipe 99. Suchleakage as may occur about the valve stem 51 into the space of the cap101 also drains through connection 103 into pipe 99.

The iiow through the annular passage 43 and the port of nozzle 41 actswith aspirating effect through the internal nozzle 39 to draw water fromthe passage 47 and diaphragm chamber 29.V This immediately reduces theexcess of pressure above the diaphragm to nothing (possibly creating aslight vacuum above it) and permits the water in the inletV 9 to liftthe closure 7 from its seat and flow into the valve chamber and thedistributing pipe 3. The strut 27 is provided around its top edge with adepending lip 27 which ts rather close to the edge of the opening 49 sothat as the diaphragm and strut move upward the opening is stillsubstantially closed by the strut, thereby preventing any foreign mattercarried by the water from entering the opening 49 and lodging on thetapered seat 3l.

Simultaneouly with the lifting of the closure 7, the latter assumes atilted position oblique to the direct flow of water through its seat.This tilting is eiected by a novel shaping of the bearing 105 in the arm107 of the closure, it being deformedV from a true cylindrical bearingby making one side of its upper half and the opposite side of its lowerhalf conical in shape (see Figure 3). As it lifts, the closure as awhole assumes the position shown in dotted outline in Figure 1 with itsface oblique to the water Welling upward through its seat and, inconsequence, is then swung laterally about its pivot 109 to one side ofits seat and entirely out of the path of movement of the strut 27. Therethe closure settles down again to a level a little below the plane ofits seat, as seen in full lines in Figure 1, being thus prevented fromagain swinging thereacross until manually reset.

In setting the closure it is manually lifted upward along its pivot 109and then swung laterally onto and across its seat, its final positionbeing determined by the engagement of a depending lip 110 with the outerwall of the seat. Preferably there is provided a bumper 111 on theclosure to prevent injury of the edge thereof when the closure strikesagainst the wall 112 of the valve casing at the end of its openingswing. This bumper may be made of relatively soft metal if desired tocushion the effect of the blow on the casing and thus cut down anytendency of the closure to rebound, but this is not deemed necessary forexperience has demonstrated that the closure will open and settle belowits seat when no such cushioning bumper is provided.

I claim:

1. A valve adapted for automatic opening having an inlet passage and aclosure normally seated across it and adapted to move laterally acrossits seat when opening; means guiding said closure in opening comprisinga xed pivot extending in the general direction of flow through the seatand an arm engaging said pivot having a deformed cylindrical bearingconstructed and arranged to cause said closure when lifted to tilt aboutsaid pivot so as to position the under surface of said closure obliqueto a plane passing through the center of the closure and perpendicularto the axis of said pivot whereby the force of said flow acting on theclosure when thus tilted swings the closure laterally across its seat.

2. A valve adapted for automatic opening having an inlet passage and aclosure normally seated across it and adapted to move laterally acrossits seat when opening; means guiding said closure in opening comprisinga fixed pivot and a bearing in said closure engaging said pivot and soshaped that upon the closure being lifted from its seat the closure istilted about said pivot with a surface of said closure at such an angleto the direction of new through its seat that the force of the nowacting on said surface effects movement of said closure laterally acrossits seat.

3. A valve adapted for automatic opening having an inlet passage and aclosure normally seated across it and adapted to move laterally acrossits seat When opening; xecl means adapted to engage a bearing surface ofsaid closure during its lifting movement; said surface being so arrangedin cooperative relation to said means as to cause said closure to tiltand thus position itself at such an angle to the direction of ow throughits seat that the force of said ioW acting on the closure eects movementof said closure laterally across its seat to a position where gravitymoves said closure partly below the plane of its seat.

4. A valve adapted for automatic opening having an inlet passage and aclosure normally seated across it and adapted to move laterally acrossits seat when opening; a fixed pivot beside said passageway with axisextending in the general direction of oW through the seat; an arm on theclosure directly engaging said pivot, and having a hole therein of suchsize and shape relative to said pivot as to permit the Valve when liftedfrom said seat to be tilted With its surface oblique to the aforesaiddirection of flow, whereby the force of flow acting on the tiltedclosure swings it about the pivot laterally across its seat.

ALBERT J. LOEPSINGER.

